Kerala News

Custodial death: Did Kerala police arrest the wrong person?

KOTTAYAM : The death of Varapuzha youth Sreejith, who was taken into police custody in Kochi, has put the police department in a tight spot.

Sreejith (26) and few others were taken into custody for barging into the house of one K.M. Vasudevan and threatening him on Friday. Vasudevan committed suicide the same day. It is learnt that policemen in plain clothes dragged Sreejith out of his his house and took him to the station the same night.

Sources say Sreejith was tortured by the cops, who inflicted serious injuries on him. Sreejith was admitted to a private hospital as he complained of stomach ache and difficulty in passing urine on Sunday night.

“When he tried to resist the arrest, they thrashed and kicked him in the abdomen,” Sreejith’s mother told reporters.

He died on Monday and the postmortem report said that he died due to the injuries in the abdomen. The report also cited injuries in several parts of the body.

Meanwhile, K.V. Vineesh, Vasudevan’s son, said that Sreejith was not involved in the attack in his house. “Sreejith, who died on Monday, was not involved in the attack. Another youth with the same name, who hails from Devaswompadam, was among the assailants. The Sreejith, who died is my friend. I never gave a statement that he was involved in the attack,” he said.

However, Aluva Superintendent of Police (Rural) A.V. George dismissed Vineesh’s statement and said that a complaint was lodged against Sreejith (who died on Monday). A special investigation team has been formed to probe the death.

Three policemen – Jithin Raj, Santhosh Kumar and Sumesh – were suspended, pending inquiry in the wake of allegations on the death of Sreejith being due to third degree torture by the police.